Programme 7

Vet Extension - Wicklow

With Alan Rossiter's mother-in-law moving in to his house, space is getting really tight for Alan, his Dutch wife Anna and their four little boys. So something has to be done.

They are going to build an extension that is twice as big as their existing house and they are going to make it to passive standards. Despite being a vet with no previous building experience whatsoever, Alan strongly believes that there is way too much palaver about building a house to the highest possible energy standard. He has decided not to hire an architect for this ambitious project and has drawn up his plans himself using a CAD programme he downloaded. He is convinced that the process of building a passive house can be simplified and with the help of innovative passive designer, Seamus O'Loughlin, sets out to do exactly this.

But Duncan is very skeptical. He thinks that Alan has not thought his project out well enough and might find out that things are actually far from simple.

We follow Alan and Seamus as they embark on this difficult project. Will Duncan be proved right in the end?

Wicklow

Please note: None of the suppliers listed below have gone out of business. Unfortunately American Timber Frame (The builder on Alan and Anna's house) went bankrupt during filming. Neither Viking House of MBC Timberframe were involved in the bankruptcy. They are separate companies and are still in business.